


graceless

by evanescent



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Alternate Universe - Guardian Angels, M/M, More characters to be added, abandoned work im sorry, beware of bad puns, i will try to balance out angst and fluff.... at least to some point
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-08
Updated: 2015-02-28
Packaged: 2018-03-11 04:34:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3314138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evanescent/pseuds/evanescent
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“<i>What the hell</i>,” Hide blurts out without thinking. Sasaki frowns.</p><p>“That’s not really the best way to greet an angel, you know?”</p><p>-</p><p>After Kaneki's unexpected death, Hide finds himself assigned to a particular guardian angel.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My sleep-deprived brain comes up with the strangest ideas at 1am and then I take weeks to actually write them, but well, here we are.
> 
> And to explain the title, _graceless_ , as in, void of grace in spiritual, metaphysical meaning.

_[October]_

As far as things go, Hide loves to listen to Kaneki talking, be it about his incomprehensible books or fairly uneventful classes, but when his friend brings up the matter of his crush, Hide somehow wishes he wouldn’t speak up at all.

“Do you remember that girl I showed you in Anteiku a few days ago?” Kaneki asks him and Hide nods, because how could he not; she left an impression, after all. “Her name is Kamishiro Rize and she loves Takatsuki’s works. We chatted a little and today we’re going on a bookstore date! We will give each other novel recommendations! ”

Kaneki clearly looks excited as they sit by their favourite table in the bar near Kamii, talking animatedly and probably planning out a romance novel-like scenario in his head -- Hide knows him well enough to know that he sometimes gets more or less delusional. But even Kaneki manages to surprise him; being honest, Hide didn’t think his friend would work up the courage to talk to his book girl -- hell, now, thinking back to when he saw her, Hide doesn’t really think he would decide to start a conversation, let alone get a date. Besides, as attractive as she may looked like, she wasn’t really his type, but being the best best friend, that’s not something he should say now, is it?

“I guess people sure get lucky sometimes,” he states ambiguously, looking out of the window and back to his friend. The phrase “trembling with excitement” comes to his mind since it seems just about right to describe Kaneki at this moment and Hide feels bad for not being a better support. “I don’t really get the appeal of a bookstore date, but whatever, have fun, nerd,” he adds with a smile that should contain all the encouragement and appreciation he is not really feeling.

After walking from the restaurant, they spend a few minutes waiting at the bus stop -- Hide has afternoon shift at work again and is a little short on time -- when he remembers about something. “Be careful on that date of yours,” he tells Kaneki, looking over his shoulder. “They are talking about these murders happening around here lately all the time.”

“Hm?” Kaneki glances at him and nods. “Yeah, we will be careful.”

“And I await a full report afterwards!” Hide calls out before hopping in the bus. Truth be told, he doesn’t, but he knows it will make Kaneki flustered and that’s always something worth seeing. Hide flashes him thumbs up and the last thing he sees before the bus departs is his friend shaking his head at him, arms folded disapprovingly.

…

Hide doesn’t get any text from Kaneki and he goes to sleep thinking he is so going to scold him for that tomorrow. It almost drowns out this strange, sinking feeling that seems to have settled when he wasn’t looking; not quite anger, and not exactly worry. If anything, it’s tainted with a certain shade of regret.

...

Not so silently cursing himself for sleeping in, Hide pauses by the vending machine, sadly realizing he will have to do with this horribly bitter black coffee in the can ( _Maybe it will wake me up_ , he thinks grudgingly after buying it) and breaks into a run for the first class this morning. Fortunately, the professor isn’t there yet, so he drops into his usual seat with a sigh of relief.

“Hey, Nagachika!” A group of three or of his classmates greets him, sitting two rows of seats ahead of him and Hide waves to them.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“We were talking about that accident that happened last night,” the girl says. “Did you hear about it?”

“Not at all,” he answers, opening his coffee; a strong, bitter scent makes Hide scrunch his nose.

“It seems some I-beams weren’t bonded properly on a building around here,” one of the boys explains. “They fell down at two young people who happened to be there, the girl died right away, the guy in a hospital… Apparently, he was a student here at Kamii, his name was…”

Without even realizing, the can slips out of Hide’s fingers and hits the floor with a loud thud that echoes surprisingly hollowly.

…

_[December]_

Nearing the end of the year, December 20th brings cold and light rain freezing and pricking onto Hide’s face as he rides his bike from the graveyard. Even some time later, heading back to his apartment, he can still distinguish that faint, characteristic scent from a bouquet of tatarian asters he bought; it fills the air around him, subtly mixing with tiny drops of rain, not leaving despite Hide putting on a hood of his jacket. Sometimes it’s very hard to breathe in Tokyo.

Getting close to yet another intersection, Hide steals a glance at his phone screen, somewhat surprised to find out it’s only shortly after three pm; he can swear this day seemed ridiculously long and it’s still far from ending, even though it’s getting dark pretty quickly at this time of the year. He slips the phone back into the pocket, feeling very grateful for not having classes or work tomorrow morning, and starts crossing the intersection, having a green light.

Reflecting on this later in time, he will marvel at how much can happen in one, two seconds.

The first thing Hide registers is a screech of tyres coming from the left; he turns his head and finds himself under direct lights of a car coming right at him. The screech is loud and nasty in his ears -- the driver is probably pushing the brake, but at this very moment, collision seems inevitable. The least Hide could do is to at least try to move out of the way, but before his body even acts upon this idea, a new thought forms itself, _So this is how it’s like to die without any warning--_

Right then, Hide feels gentle but firm hands pressing into his back and pushing him forward from his bike, and for a split second, it seems like he is defying laws of gravity, though the moment is soon over. The collision with the ground is certainly less fatal than the one he would have had with the car; regardless of that, Hide feels sharp, burning pain from the way his gloved hands involuntarily dig into the asphalt to stabilize the fall, his knees take a certain damage in this action as well. Somewhere during all of that, he thinks he spots a man from the corner of his eye -- what catches Hide’s attention is a long, white coat fluttering behind him as he disappears in the corner of the street -- but it’s so fleeting he can’t be sure.

That’s when the world catches up to him, or maybe it’s Hide who finally realizes the traffic has stopped and he is surrounded by a bunch of people talking over each other; he hears someone saying, “He shouldn’t get up just yet,” and another person worries, “Shall I call an ambulance?”

Somehow, Hide rolls himself over to sit on the damp ground and says, trying to calm down his erratic heartbeat, “Thank you for your concern, but I think I’m fine…”

“I’m so sorry!” The small man Hide assumes is the driver of the almost-fatal car pushes his way through to him, bowing apologetically. “I admit I didn’t realize the lights had changed and then I tried to stop when I saw you, but the road is slippery from the rain…”

The crowd around them grunts disapprovingly and Hide sighs quietly, flashing a strained smile. “No hard feelings, but please pay more attention to poor small bikers like me.”

“I will!” the man cries out, nodding fervently. “I can take you to the hospital as a way of...”

“Really, there’s no need,” Hide interrupts, waving his hand and noticing that sadly, he will have to buy a new pair of gloves. Not to mention, _a bike_. “Thanks to that guy who pushed me out of the way, nothing serious happened…”

“The man who pushed you? I haven’t seen anything of the like, Biker-kun.” A woman with long dark hair stares down at him with an unreadable expression. “I admit it looked strange, the way you kind of flew over your bike and got out of the way just in time, but that’s what happened.”

The other people agree with her; some man says, “Maybe he’s got a concussion, I didn’t really see him hitting his head badly, but…”

Hide’s mouth goes dry, contrary to how damp and cold his whole face is, but he wonders out loud, carefully shaking his head and scratching the cheek, “It’s amazing what human body is capable of in the situation of danger, huh?”

After hearing that, the crowd seems relieved and Hide is let to stand on his feet, the flow of cars at the intersection returning to normal. The driver apologizes to him yet again and hands in his number, saying he is willing to pay for a new bike, so Hide, for the sake of allowing the man to lessen his guilt, doesn’t argue. The only person left by his side after that is the woman who called him _Biker-kun_ and she offers to walk with him until they reach his apartment, explaining she is going this way to work anyway. Hide is kind of embarrassed for causing such trouble and having strangers worry about him, but he does his best to keep up some small talk on the way.

…

By the time he gets home, Hide feels like he is about to catch a cold and as to confirm this, he sneezes right after closing the door. He sighs and hangs his damp jacket in the corridor, kicks off sneakers of his feet and collapses on the couch in the living room afterwards.

The light rain seems to be dying out finally as Hide rests in silence, laying flat on his back with an arm thrown around his eyes, letting himself to admit he is feeling very tired, not only after today. His own breath hitches in his throat and though his pulse isn’t so uneven anymore, Hide stays in this position, waiting for the rests of tension to leave his body. Somewhat absent-mindedly, he thinks taking a shower would be a good idea.

Eventually, he sits up, feeling better and decides to take a look at his ankle. Hide doesn’t exactly remember how it even got injured during the incident in the first place, but it started to hurt on the way back and now it looks kind of swollen. _It doesn’t seem to be even a sprain_ , he thinks, _but if it doesn’t get better after putting on some ice, I should probably see a doctor_.

“You should probably see a doctor,” a voice says out loud, somewhere behind Hide, and he jumps in his seat with a yelp.

“Yikes!” he calls out, turning his head to find a stranger casually leaning on the backrest of the couch, and Hide starts, “You are--” but then voice dies in his throat.

The sensation is strange and fleeting; it isn’t exactly one could call a déjà vu, but Hide has a vague sense of recognition looking back into calm blue eyes observing him carefully, long eyelashes fluttering when he blinks, a little taken aback. His features are soft and pleasing, though there is something untamed in the way curls of white hair with visible black roots fall down on his forehead.

“Hm?” He tilts his head and straightens up from half-sitting position. That’s when Hide actually realizes he’s wearing a white coat and things sort of click.

“You are that guy from before,” Hide says slowly, staring; the strange sensation is now faint at the tips of his fingers, disappearing quicker than he could try to name it and leaving a peculiar aftertaste. “The one who pushed me out of the way.”

The stranger hums quietly. “So you did see me, after all,” he mumbles out, pressing a wrist to his temple. “I can’t believe I managed to fail so spectacularly; first, I almost let you get hit by a car, and then I end up being seen… And it’s only the first day of the job! Also, I’m sorry about your bike, I guess it couldn’t stand on its own because it was _two-tired_.” He laughs a little and after a moment of awkward silence, he looks back at Hide. “Anyway, please don’t get the wrong impression of me, I will try my best to make up for that. ”

If anything, Hide is confused -- and was that _a pun_? “Wait, I don’t get it. Who are you? What job?”

“I am Sasaki Haise,” he answers, bowing his head with a gentle smile. “And I’m your guardian angel. Nice to meet you, Nagachika Hideyoshi.”

It’s a good thing Hide is sitting because this way, the only thing that drops down is his jaw.

“ _What the hell_ ,” he blurts out without thinking. Sasaki frowns.

“That’s not really the best way to greet an angel, you know?”


	2. Chapter 2

The last days of the current year present Hide with a series of important revelations. (Though thankfully, he doesn’t become a prophet or something equally ridiculous.)

Sasaki seems to be his guardian angel indeed -- he certainly isn’t a human being, considering how he is able to dematerialize and appear out of thin air right afterwards, which he did to prove this fact to Hide during their first (well, actually second) meeting. Frankly, he keeps on doing this. It’s all sorts of cool, Hide has to admit, but also very startling at times. Also, he is pretty new at his job.

“I’m not sure what happened to your previous guardian,” he tells Hide some cloudy morning. They are in the kitchen and Sasaki is searching through Hide’s cupboard. “Usually, they last for a human’s lifetime, but sometimes, things happen,” he makes a vague hand gesture, “and so here I am. Don’t you have coffee?”

“Hmm?” Hide makes a questioning noise as he eats his cereals. He is still a little sleepy, so it takes him a moment to answer. “I don’t like coffee,” he says simply, voice even. “You haven’t been assigned to any human before, right?”

“No, I haven’t,” Sasaki says, looking over his shoulder and there’s a strange expression on his face for a brief moment; he recovers so quickly Hide can’t tell for sure if it was there in the first place. “But don’t pity me or something like that!” he warns and apparently settles for the tea instead of coffee, putting a bag in a cup. _Even angels like to drink or eat something while in their material form_ , Hide found out the other day. “Apart from taking care of you, I’m actually in charge of training a group of new guardian angels.”

Hide blinks; sitting down across him, Sasaki looks somewhat proud and pleased. “Is that so?” he asks, curious. “And how’s it going?”

“Well, they are a bunch of great kids,” Haise answers slowly, “but they are kind of troublesome, I admit. I’m still wondering if they are cut out for being guardians… It’s not as bad as it sounds, though!” He smiles in a way that was probably supposed to be reassuring, but came out in a rather nervous manner. “I really hope to help them out on their way.”

“You sure sound busy,” Hide notices. “Angels don’t have the easiest lives, do they?”

“Oh, I could have had it worse,” Sasaki states, brushing off Hide’s remark. He takes a sip of his tea. “Revelations, wonders, hunting down demons…” He pauses abruptly.

“Demons? So they also exist?”

“I’ve said too much.” The angel shakes his head with a pout. Then he glances at Hide, replying dryly, “And of course they exist. I would advise against meeting them, though.”

Hide snorts quietly. “I’m not that stupid, don’t worry.” He finishes his breakfast in silence and gets up to wash the dishes. While doing that, he asks about something that has been weighing on his mind ever since Sasaki introduced himself days ago. “Aren’t you somewhat of a rule-breaker?”

“Hm?” Sasaki looks up from the table, looking caught off guard and there it is again; this familiar, fleeting sensation that seems to come down upon Hide at the most random times recently, knocking the air out of him and leaving confused. “What do you mean?” he inquires further.

“Well, I don’t really know how it works in heavens or whatsoever,” Hide says eventually, “but aren’t angels supposed to stay out of people’s lives, act from behind the scene and things like that? At least, that’s how it is in the movies,” he adds lamely, scratching his cheek.

Sasaki seems to ponder at this question for a moment. “Well, there is logic in this thinking. Angels’ existence has never been a secret itself, it’s a matter of whether or not people believe in us,” he states and Hide agrees he’s got a point. “It’s true we usually don’t interfere with humans by revealing ourselves, mostly because we want to avoid them mixing up with heavens while they are still alive. We should think of consequences.”

“But there are exceptions.”

“There are.” Sasaki nods with a kind smile. “I think you are reasonable, keep yourself down to earth -- not in a bad meaning, of course -- enough to talk with me like that while eating breakfast, getting ready to step back into the world. Besides, haven’t you had hard time lately?” Now, there is something gentle, sad to angel’s smile and Hide’s chest tightens painfully.

“If you say so,” he mumbles out, toweling off his hands and grins. “Well, anyway, I have to go, otherwise I will be late.”

Hide is in the corridor and he is pretty sure he can hear Sasaki sigh. However, when his guardian angel speaks up, he sounds pretty cheerful. “Alright, be careful. Maybe I should watch some movie about angels?” he wonders. “To be _graced_ with human’s perspective on us -- you get it, right? _Graced_ because--”

The last, but not the least of the said revelations is that Sasaki likes puns. Possibly, _a little_ too much.

“Sorry, but this one was lame,” Hide calls out and leaves accompanied by Sasaki’s protests.

…

It’s later that day when Hide is approached by one of the last people he would have expected.

“Nagachika,” someone speaks up after Hide walks out from his last class and he almost yelps in surprise -- really, his intuition to sense people sneaking up on him is getting kind of dull. (Though, in his defense, Sasaki shouldn’t really count.) Anyhow, Hide turns around with a smile that is both kind and careful.

“Hello, Nishio-senpai,” he greets his senior. Nishiki is wearing a long grey coat and there is a red scarf tied around his neck; considering his slightly flushed cheeks, Hide would say he just got here from the cold. “I thought Department of Pharmacy didn’t have classes today.”

“We didn’t,” Nishiki answers, his expression dark, “but I came to fill in for some idiots who were supposed to take care of organizing festival committee's paperwork for this year.” Hide doesn’t know who was in charge of that and why they fucked up, but something in his senpai’s voice speaks volumes about a certain doom awaiting them, and he laughs somewhat nervously to ease the mood.

“Ah, that sucks,” he says very eloquently.

Nishiki pushes up his glasses, staring at him, and asks, “Are you free now, Nagachika?” Before Hide can reply, he adds, “As loath I am to admit, I could use help, even from such an annoying junior like you. You are in the committee too, after all.”

Kindly or not, that’s a matter up to discussion, Nishiki doesn’t point out that Hide hasn’t really taken part in any of the committee’s works lately, though he is still a member indeed. He ponders for a moment before shrugging.

“I don’t really have any plans, so…”

“Good, grab your stuff and meet me at the entrance in five minutes,” Nishiki states, promptly ignoring Hide’s _Not even a thank you? That’s rude, senpai!_ remark. “I won’t get through this damn thing without a cup of good coffee.”

…

Apparently, by saying _a cup of good coffee_ , Nishiki meant going to Anteiku.

Well, Hide certainly understands -- the place is nice and not that far from the university, and their coffee really is great, from what he remembers. Still, Hide can’t help but hesitate when they reach the shop and he lingers outside for a longer moment before following Nishiki inside.

What gets to him first is, of course, the ever-present smell of picked and brewed coffee beans, it fills his nostrils so quickly and suddenly that Hide almost feels like throwing up. In the end, he doesn’t do that, but even after sitting down by the table and taking off his jacket he feels kind of uncomfortable and slightly nauseous.

The interior of the shop hasn’t changed; neat tables are currently occupied by only three other customers, so the waitress approaches them quickly.

“Oh, Irimi-san, that’s good,” Nishiki says as a way of greeting. “I thought I’m gonna run into Kirishima instead.”

Hide hears a light chuckle and someone states, “I’m afraid Touka-chan is busy today. But I see you brought a friend, Nishiki-kun.”

The woman’s voice stirs something in him and Hide actually glances at her, not minding Nishiki as he scowls, “He’s merely an acquaintance _and_ a kouhai.” Their gazes meet and he blinks in surprise, and at the same time small _oh_ escapes her.

“You’re that boy from the incident at the intersection,” the black-haired waitress says and now, Hide understands why the voice sounded familiar in some way; he almost expects to be called _Biker-kun_ again.

“Hello,” Hide greets, smiling kindly. “It reminds me I haven’t really thanked you back then…”

“Irimi Kaya,” the woman introduces herself with a matching smile. “I presume nothing serious has come out of that accident, then?”

“Nagachika Hideyoshi,” he says, briefly standing up from his seat with a small bow “and fortunately, it just scared me. Though, thank your for your help and consideration, Irimi-san.”

“You’re welcome, Nagachika-kun.” She shifts their attention back to the both of them. “What can I get for you?”

“The usual, please” Nishiki replies, reaching over to pull the papers from his bag; if he is bothered or even curious about the exchange they had, it doesn’t show. “Also, maybe a slice of lemon cake,” he adds after a moment.

Hide scratches his cheek. “I will take a slice as well,” he asks, “and a small cappuccino.”

“I will be right back.” Irimi nods and walks over to the counter where the other waiter is talking to someone Hide has seen a few times; he presumes the old man is the manager.

After that, somewhat awkward silence falls at the table and even though the news on TV are flashing in the background, Hide doesn’t feel comfortable, so he starts, “Well, the other day I almost had a collision with a car at the intersection and Irimi-san was kind enough to help…”

“Nagachika,” Nishiki interrupts dryly as he slides over some papers to Hide, “did you hear me ask?”

“Sorry.”

Thankfully so, Irimi is back with their orders quickly and Hide is spared from being a potential victim of Nishiki’s bad mood.

“But really, I had no idea you work here, Irimi-san,” Hide states, putting his cappuccino away for the time being. “Such a coincidence.”

“I don’t mean to brag,” the woman starts, putting a streak of hair behind her ear, “but I have good memory for faces and I had a feeling I have seen you somewhere before. Turns out I must have been at Anteiku.”

“Apparently. I haven’t been here recently, though.”

“That’s true.” Irimi tilts her head slightly. “If I recall correctly, you often used to come with a friend, that black-haired, timid boy?”

Hide feels his smile drop and he doesn’t really know what to say in reply; _yes, we used to come here, but it will never happen again_? This sentence is so irreversible, so… final

“Irimi-san, I would just like to point out that guy in the corner is itching to get a refill, but he seems to lack the courage to call out to you,” Nishiki barges in, pushing up his glasses and airly pointing to the said customer. Hide feels Irimi’s gaze linger on him for a moment longer before she excuses herself to serve the coffee.

Well, that sure saved him from ruining the mood of this nice afternoon. Nishiki must have figured out at least that much. Hide looks back to him.

“Nishio-senpai…” he starts, but is cut off immediately.

“Fill in the dates according to the schedule,” Nishiki says, not looking up, and clicks his tongue in annoyance. “I don’t intend to spend a whole day with you and paperwork, Nagachika.”

Surprisingly, Nishiki doesn’t pass all the worst work on him and his insults or cynical remarks are low -- in fact, the time they spend working is mostly quiet, accompanied by pleasant warmth and smell that doesn’t bother Hide as much as in the beginning; he even manages to take a sip or two of his cappuccino. When they are done around an hour later, Hide is actually stunned to receive something that sounds a lot like reluctant thanks and so he makes a small scene out of that; just a small, though, since pissing off his senpai who is filled with caffeine doesn’t seem to be the best idea. He bids his goodbye and wishes a happy new year at his way out, what earns him another not-that-hostile grunt from Nishiki and smiles from Irimi and the other waiter who Hide thinks is called Koma.

Though the afternoon is cold, once Hide steps out of the shop and watches small puffs of his breath forming in the air, it feels fairly nice. Hide thinks that in the end, he is glad he tagged along and came with Nishiki; it would be a shame to completely abandon Anteiku, since the place is cosy, warm and welcoming. And their lemon cake tastes quite good.

“Your senpai gives out a lot of bad vibes, you know?” Sasaki speaks up suddenly and Hide flinches in place.

“Do you have to keep doing this?” he asks and sighs upon a confused face he gets in return. “Scaring me to death, I mean.”

Sasaki scratches his cheek sheepishly. “Sorry about that, I forget you are not used to it… There is also a possibility of having non-spoken conversations, but first we need to establish a proper bond…”

“Like telepathy?” Hide interrupts, intrigued.

“That’s not really…” Sasaki starts, folding his arms across his chest, but then he shakes his head. “Anyway, you should continue walking and keep your voice quiet, so it won’t look like you are talking to yourself in the middle of the street.”

Well, that’s probably true -- fortunately, Hide doesn’t spot anyone around them. “Couldn’t you just show up in your human form?” he asks, turning at the corner with Sasaki by his side.

“Sometimes it’s troublesome and requires a lot of energy.” His guardian puts hands in the pockets of his coat. “Back to the subject, is Nishio Nishiki a friend of yours?”

“No, I wouldn’t call him that.” Hide chuckles softly earns a weird look from a lady passing by. “We know each other from the festival committee and well, I agree that he comes out as a jerk most of the time -- he probably is one -- but I don’t really feel like he is that bad all round.”

Sasaki hums and nods with a smile. “As expected, you are quite a good judge of characters.”

“Thanks?”

After they cross the next intersection, Haise asks him another question, “So, any plans for New Year?”

Hide didn’t see this one coming and it takes him a while to respond. “Hm, not really? I offered to help around with delivering the letters at the neighbouring post office on New Year’s Day, maybe I will drop by to see my parents… Actually, I imagine myself sleeping through a great part of the holidays,” he adds lightly.

“Is that so,” is all Sasaki says at that, averting his gaze to admire New Year’s decorations put up all along the street. They are really neat, Hide admits, like every year.

_[last year]_

“I feel like I’m gonna freeze my ass off,” he whines and receives a long-suffering stare.

“No one told you to wear a kimono, Hide,” Kaneki reminds him without any sympathy. “And they said on the forecast it’s going to be cold tonight.”

Hide gasps and pauses in the middle of the stairs leading up to the shrine. “You are almost as cold as today’s weather, Kaneki,” he claims, mildly offended, and shakes the sleeves of his kimono. “Besides, I’m doing everything I can in order to turn fortune my way in the upcoming year. I do not take this matter lightly, you know?”

Kaneki only sighs and they continue to climb the steps. There are a lot of people gathered on the shrine grounds and a lot of them seem to be already in a New Year’s spirit. Hide would gladly join them, but first, they need to do some things.

At the start, he and Kaneki go to take their prayers at the right place and both of them bow and fold their hands. _Hello, long time no see_ , Hide thinks. _This year was pretty good, so thanks for that. But I would really like the next to be “the” year, you know? Let me pass exams without dying somewhere along the way from the overload of knowledge and be accepted in the same university as Kaneki_. Right, this, what else? _Also let me experience new things and meet new people? Just be kind on us and we will figure out the rest._

“You looked unusually focused there,” Kaneki shares his observation once they blend in with the crowd. “Do you actually have a serious wish?”

“Yes.” Hide nods steadily. “I want to fall in love with the cutest girl ever and finally beat Watanabe at Smash Bros.”

“Forget I asked.” Kaneki rolls his eyes, but there is an amused smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Hide finds it endearing and he doesn’t mind the cold that much anymore.

Of course, they buy an _omikuji_ from the maiden of the shrine. Hide gets so picky about drawing the fortune to the point of Kaneki nudging him to hurry because there are people waiting in the queue behind them.

“I tell you, Kaneki, this is a serious matter,” Hide pouts a little as he is dragged back after finally making up his mind.

“Alright, alright.” His friend only laughs. “So, shall we open them?”

Hide nods eagerly and rolls out his _omikuji_ ; thankfully, it’s not a poem or anything like that, just a regular fortune. However, his expression drops seeing things like _you may lose a lot of money if you are not reasonable_ , _be watchful of your health_ and, worst of all, _ill luck_.

“That is just plain rude!” he exclaims. “After all my hard work! I will have to tie this to a tree on shrine grounds…” He looks at Kaneki who seems to be silently stunned. “What about you?”

“Oh, well, mine is actually full of blessings… I didn’t expect that…” He scratches his cheek absent-mindedly.

“Hmm…” Hide peeks to read his friend’s fortune. “Oh, wow, _great blessing_ , you sure are lucky! But huh… It tells you to _keep out from love affairs since the consequences may be grave_ … That’s harsh.” He throws an arm around Kaneki and grins. “Well, no matter the fortune, as long as you stick around me, I’m sure it will be fine!”

“Shouldn’t I be the one saying this, considering your ill-fated luck?” There is little tease in these words, but mostly, Kaneki sounds relieved and happy. _Seriously, this guy_ , Hide thinks to himself fondly, and calls out, “Shush now, I can’t wait for midnight!”

“Great blessing and ill luck, huh?” Hide mumbles to himself. Sasaki peers at him curiously, but doesn’t ask, and silence falls between them again, enveloping just as tightly as the cold, but less acutely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sincere apologies for taking so long to update (and for coming up with rather long chapter that probably isn't too good orz), but first I was hit with a few shitty days and then I got flooded with schoolwork sighs. I will try to have chapter three up sooner.
> 
> Oh, and since I didn't mention it in the first chapter and only somehow suggested in this one, this au is a ghoul-less one, in case you've been wondering. :) Also, thanks for all the positive feedback on this, I really appreciate your words!

**Author's Note:**

> What can I say, I will play around with the concept of guardian angels in this fic, so kindly turn a blind eye to some things until they get explained. Upadates will be irregular because I have no idea what is my life.
> 
> Comments are as always appreciated & thank you for reading!


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